Universal & Volcano during Hurricane Irma, tips for making the best of it?

[brandonbr]

Well, as luck has it, we're flying in Saturday afternoon and IF the flight lands before the Irma hits that night, the first part of our trip was to be Volcano Bay on Sunday and Universal on Mon and Tues (With the rest of our trip at WDW starting on Wed so the WDW part should be fine).

But I have a few questions. Some may sound dumb, so lets start with those.

Do most hurricanes bring lightning or just wind and rain? Lets assume Irma doesn't directly hit the Orlando area so all parks don't close specifically due to being in the path. I'm wondering if there's much of a chance of still doing Volcano Bay Sunday knowing it might be windy and rainy. I'd be fine with that, going for the rides/slides and not for the sun, but if hurricanes always bring lightning then I'm guessing it's likely Volcano Bay on Sunday or during/around a hurricane is unlikely?

So if VB is closed due to lighting, what's the next best park to hit, the Islands or the other park? I've only been to Universal once and that was about 10 years ago. My recollection is the main park has more "indoor" rides (other than rip-ride which we love) and may be better for Sunday/the worst day of the storm? Or do most people think the islands side is better during storms? We'll be getting park hopping (I doubt that's the term universal uses but same idea) so the train and maybe some of Hogwarts won't be bad during the storm? And of course the water rides on Islands are probably a good choice during rain or do they close with lightning?

Anyway, I was just looking to see if people who've been there in the rain or hurricanes could give their experiences or offer some tips to maybe make the most of the storm if the parks end up being open and there are people like us who will be coming in and want to make the most of our trips.

PS, for my party of 4, we're thrill seekers (too bad dueling dragons just barely closed!) and things like 4d (Shrek is gone, yeah!) and kids rides aren't our things.

Thanks everyone! Hope everyone stays safe this next week!

 

[bchbetha]

Windy doesn't quite capture hurricane winds. You'd be best off at Universal. Volcano Bay would be miserable, if it's open.
FYI- Shrek isn't closed in FL, just Hollywood.
Search this forum for last year's Hurricane Matthew for trip reports during that time.

 

[markey]

I have been in Orlando when a hurricane came thru, Charlie. The airports were closed at noon and did not open until the next day. The parks closed at noon also and did not open until mid day the next day. Husband thinks the pzrks did not open at all, so don't know who is correct. We made it to port canaveral for a cruise and were on a ghost ships because the airports were closed. We were told to stay in our rooms, Charlie came thu around 8pm and was not done until the next morning. I think if this hurricane hits Orlando you will have more problems then deciding which park to go to. Also since we could not leave the hotel they were running out of food. Good luck With the timing of this storm airports could be closed again.

 

[macraven]

I was staying at UO last year when Matthew happened

Parks were closed at 5 on Thursday until reopening Saturday morning

Depending on when and where Irma hits, no idea how Sunday will affect the parks

 

[Metro West]

I was staying at UO last year when Matthew happened

Parks were closed at 5 on Thursday until reopening Saturday morning

Depending on when and where Irma hits, no idea how Sunday will affect the parks

Yeah...too early to tell what the storm is going to do.

 

[anniebean]

We're headed down Saturday as well. Since we're driving, we're bringing water, food, wine, etc., with us (we do this anyways). Staying at Cabana Bay until next Thursday, and then headed over to the Swan for our Disney part of trip.

Years ago, when my kids were young, we were at Nick Hotel when a hurricane hit south Florida. Seems like they evacuated AK animals, and there were tornado warnings all around, but we seriously wouldn't have known if we weren't watching the news. I ended up catching up on laundry and we explored the resort. I think we only had that one washed out day, and the rest of trip was fine.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Irma is a huge storm. The anticipated/expected track might be center/just to the west/just to the east of Florida. Unless it veers significantly off from anticipated, you'll likely be looking at HUGE wind in Orlando. HUGE. It's an unprecedented monster of a storm. Right now it's got 180mph winds. Likely those will significantly reduce, once it makes landfall, but let's say it's reduced by half, that's still 90mph winds. No parks will be open in that if that happens. Keep in mind, as a perspective, most of the time emergency vehicles with higher profiles (like fire trucks) are 'grounded' at 50mph winds as it's just not safe, so even if those winds are reduced again by half, park opening is unlikely.

It's totally great to have a positive attitude, and to be hopeful that it tracks way away from central FL, but I wouldn't count on that and I'd also be prepared to hole up in your hotel room, or possibly even in lower level ballrooms/large interior spaces for the worst of it. I'd personally delay the trip if at all possible. Good luck!

 

[PoohIsHome]

If Irma goes through Central FL as the expected Cat 3, it's going to be a mess.

 

[Metro West]

If Irma goes through Central FL as the expected Cat 3, it's going to be a mess.

The news was saying a CAT 4 off the coast. According to the timeline...we should start feeling the winds and some heavy rains Saturday afternoon. Sunday is going to be hurricane conditions most of the day and into Monday. I think Orange County will have curfews and no one will be allowed on the streets. Starting to feel really nervous now.

 

[keishashadow]

OP you are talking apples & oranges to compare Matthew with Irma in it's current state of affairs.

We are all praying Irma (and Jose on her heels!) will miss the continental US. Here are some mind-boggling numbers that CNN tossed together today:


65,000
The square mileage of Irma's tropical storm force winds. That's roughly the same area as the state of Florida.

300 miles
The diameter of those tropical storm force winds, which is about twice as wide as Florida's peninsula.

185 miles per hour
The strength of Irma's maximum sustained winds. 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the most destructive hurricane to hit Florida, had maximum winds of 175 mph. Florida Governor Rick Scott warned that Irma was "bigger, faster and stronger" than Andrew, which hit as a Category 5.

About 5,000
The number of people that are being evacuated from the Bahamas. Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said it is the largest evacuation in the history of the country.

79,000
The population of Monroe County, Florida, which makes up the Florida Keys. The county is under a mandatory evacuation order ahead of Irma's predicted arrival.


If it turns out to be more akin to last year's Matthew storm...

There was a curfew & orders to stay indoors @ the onsite resorts.

They will toss the pool chairs/tables into the pool so they don't become airborne. Once all was cleared they started the process to get the pool area back in order on Saturday am. Trying to remember, believe it was open on Sunday am.

Food service becomes limited. Jakes had an abbreviated menu, the sushi was still flowing in lounge on Thursday evening. No sign of liquor running out

They did offer a buffet in banquet room for breakfast & dinner. Took a peek, didn't eat it, best i can say is it was food. Mexican themed as i recall. Many went that route. SFalls also offered a buffet.

Another large room @ RPH had games & activities for guests. We killed some time there.

Just happy that the power stayed on at the resort(s). Glad i had packed flashlights

The grounds had their share of vegetation down, including the parking lot. On our way driving up to U from WDW there was a good deal of debris on the surface roads that i did my best to avoid. I wound up with 2 flat tires on the rental. At least we were able to make it to the parking lot. Took Alamo several days to come & 'save us' with a flatbed that took us to a hotel in convention area to pick up a replacement car after the storm had passed.

Little known fact, many in the area will rent nearly all available vehicles to get out ahead of storm. We had to wait until one became available for a replacement.

Housekeeping was severly curtailed.

What those on vacation can lose sight of are that the service employees, including park/hotel have their own real lives & obligations. Majority heeded the official curfew and sheltered in place at their homes. Team members that did sign up to work @ Loews were able to at least bring their pets along (loews is pet friendly) and they slept on cots in a meeting room. Tirelessly working throughout the storm, smiling despite many fellow guests not exactly acting on their best behavior, have to hand it to them.

Speaking of pets, I've never seen quite so many dogs as were hanging out with their owners in the RPH lobby area. Many locals sheltered there with their pets. All well behaved but was a bit uncomfortable if you have allergy issues to dog fur.

 

[nighttowll]

Just an FYI - Orlando airport just announced no more flights after 5:00 pm Saturday. Check their website for details.

If your flight does make it in, I'd focus on food, water, and being prepared for worst case scenario of no power, flooding, bad rain, strong wind, limited food and water, etc. It is also likely Universal may close all together. It closed for Matthew last year.

This is a peninsula we are talking about, with a storm heading toward it that is wider than the state. It doesn't have to be a direct hit to cause damage. Hopefully, any damage will be minor and things will return to normal very soon after, but there is no way to know right now what will happen.

Not trying to scare anyone. There's no guarantee anything will happen. I'm just a plan for the worst, hope for the best kind of person. I'm also originally from Houston and worked Hurricane Katrina relief, so I probably take these things a little more seriously than most.

If nothing happens, keep to your original plan or hit the indoor attractions at both parks. That is part of what I love about Universal, it is so fast and easy to switch between parks that when the weather is bad, it is great that you can hop back and forth between parks doing just the indoor stuff.

 

[macraven]

They revised that hours after it was posted
Mco will be open but has warnings and flights are still scheduled after 5:00

last posting on mco that i just looked at said any updated decision will be made sometime today.

just recheck their website for any additional news of their status.

 

[OOMHS]

Seriously, I'd re-schedule if possible.

 

[TommyJK]

Current Irma predicted path:

 

[connab]

We are debating if we need to canel, our reservation its Thur the 14th.

 

[TommyJK]

We are debating if we need to canel, our reservation its Thur the 14th.

Irma will be long past by Thursday, and Jose's predicted path looks like it's going to remain out at sea so your are *likely* in the clear. I guess it would just depend on how much damage Irma does and the cleanup required afterwards.

 

[keishashadow]

Jose currently forecast to impact many of the same leeward islands, including PR this coming weekend, then head north not making landfall in continental US

 

[embracejg]

We are debating if we need to canel, our reservation its Thur the 14th.

That's unnecessary. Even bad storms in the past have only closed the parks for about a day and a half. Don't panic and wait until they're offering waivers, otherwise you've cancelled your vacation for nothing.

 

[Bren's Mom]

You can't say that unnecessary. If the area is hit hard, with significant damage, the parks might be fine, and Disney/Universal resorts fine, but their STAFF might have issues getting to work. You can't open parks without sufficient staff. You also can't open without food deliveries, etc. These things all might be an issue for a few days (or longer maybe). This is an unprecedented storm, and it shouldn't be compared to any others because we just don't know for sure what's going to happen.

You might need/want to cancel. Depending on where you're flying from, what airline, and what other date options you have, you might want to consider it.

 

[Alicefan]

I hate to sound like Debbie Downer, but if this storm continues on it's current path, you will not be going to any of the parks and more than likely will be sitting in your hotel room all weekend. I would definitely try to reschedule or you may end up sorely disappointed. It sounds as if you think you can power through some wind and rain but the parks will close because those winds are not going to be exactly what you're thinking. Even a non direct hit will produce winds that will knock you down and they are not going to let children run around in that.